I was at the antique market in Savannah and saw a guy selling 'fully restored' Leicas

Picked one up and the shutter curtain was totally out of sync, felt like a crime. Has anyone else run into these 'restorations' that are just cosmetic?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel4701mo ago

Saw a "restored" M3 in Austin last month with a rangefinder so dim you couldn't focus. It's just a shell at that point.

diana_black1mo ago

Ugh, that's the WORST. @daniel470 is totally right, a dim rangefinder kills the whole camera. I've seen "restored" ones where they just polish the outside but skip the crucial beam splitter replacement. At that point, you're just carrying a very expensive paperweight.

alex3071mo ago

Check the beam splitter first thing, that's always the real problem. I had a guy try to sell me a "mint" M2 last year with the same issue, total scam. Diana_black is spot on about those half-assed restorations, they're everywhere now. Honestly if the rangefinder patch is faint just walk away, it's not worth the headache.